How to Write 哙 (kuài) — Meaning “To swallow / Greedy”

Imagine a greedy person at a banquet who opens his mouth (口) very wide to swallow an entire meeting (会) of food at once. This visual of a huge mouth gobbling everything helps link the shape and meaning.

Write the left radical 口 first with three strokes, making a small square. Then write the right part 会: start with the top 人 (two strokes), then the middle 云 (four strokes). Keep the right part balanced and not too wide; a common mistake is making 会 too tall or separating the 人 and 云.

哙 uses the mouth radical with 会, meaning swallow or greedy, while 君 (jūn) has 尹 and 口 meaning lord or ruler. 吝 (lìn) has 文 and 口 and means stingy or miserly. Visually, 哙 has the 会 component, 君 has a different top, and 吝 uses 文 instead.

哙 is not common in everyday modern Chinese, but it appears in the historical name 樊哙 (Fán Kuài), a general from the Han Dynasty. It may also be used in classical literature or idioms about chewing or swallowing, but most learners encounter it only through this famous figure.

Common words containing 哙 include: 樊哙 (fán kuài) — Fan Kuai (a Han Dynasty general); 哙哙 (kuài kuài) — Bright / Splendid; 嚼哙 (jué kuài) — To chew / To munch.